1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to wheels and, more particularly, to spoked wheels especially adapted for use on two-wheeled vehicles, such as motorcycles.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Spoked wheels are well known in the art of two-wheeled vehicles. Of special interest are two-wheeled motorcycles known as xe2x80x9cdirt trackersxe2x80x9d. What makes a xe2x80x9cdirt trackerxe2x80x9d motorcycle unique is the fact that the direction in which they race is generally counter-clockwise. This type of racing wears out a tire (which is very important in racing) on one side before the other. This aspect of motorcycle racing has led to xe2x80x9creversiblexe2x80x9d wheels. More specifically, xe2x80x9creversiblexe2x80x9d wheels are wheels that can be flipped over to use the good side of the tire and still mount a sprocket or brake with the same orientation as before reversal. In this respect, it would be desirable if a spoked wheel apparatus were provided which is reversible.
The common wheel size for xe2x80x9cdirt trackerxe2x80x9d motorcycles is dictated by the selection of tires available for the sport. The most common tire is the Goodyear, 19 inch (in diameter) Dirt Track Tire. In addition, Dunlop, Pirelli, Continental, etc. also make suitable tires for the xe2x80x9cdirt trackerxe2x80x9d. The rims come in various widths to accommodate various tire widths, which are still 19 inch in diameter. The previous rim sizes were called WM6, WM5, and WM4.5, to mention a few. It is noted that for many years, the front wheels on most street bikes were 19 inch wheels. The xe2x80x9cWMxe2x80x9d numbers are xe2x80x9cwheel manufacturersxe2x80x9d numbers and relate to width of the rim, 3.50 inches, 3.00 inches, and 2.75 inches, respectively. These rims have been in production for the past 35 years. Sun Rims makes the WM6 and the WM4.5. Excel (in Japan) makes the WM5. In earlier years, an assortment of sizes were available from Akront, DID, Borrani, etc. Not all of the above-mentioned rims comply with the American Tire and Rim Association Motorcycle Tubeless specifications MT3.50, MT3.00, and MT2.75. In this respect, it would be desirable if a spoked wheel apparatus were provided which complies with the American Tire and Rim Association Motorcycle Tubeless specifications MT3.50, MT3.00, and MT2.75.
Throughout the years, many innovations in the art of spoked wheel apparatuses have been described. In this respect, special attention is directed to U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,592, incorporated herein by reference, which discloses a spoked wheel apparatus which is not symmetrical about a medial plane. To facilitate reversibility, it would be desirable if a spoked wheel apparatus were provided which is symmetrical about a medial plane.
Some spoked wheels employ spokes having threads at one end and dog-legged ends at the other end. For greater control in positioning and providing tension on the spokes, it would be desirable if a spoked wheel apparatus were provided which includes threads at both ends of the spokes.
Generally, spoked wheel apparatuses are used with tires and internal tubes. This is especially true with xe2x80x9cdirt trackerxe2x80x9d motorcycles. Simply stated, air-tight seals are not provided between the spokes and the rims. To lighten the overall weight of a xe2x80x9cdirt trackerxe2x80x9d motorcycle, it would be desirable if a spoked wheel apparatus were provided that can employ tubeless tires.
In a spoked wheel apparatus, a great deal of stress is exerted on the hub ends of the spokes and the spoke reception wells in the hub. Along with this stress, an accompanying risk of stripping the spoke reception wells occurs. To avoid stripping the spoke reception wells, it would be desirable if a spoked wheel apparatus were provided which included spoke well inserts that provide a strong, stress-resistant connection between threaded ends of spokes and spoke reception wells.
Still other features would be desirable in a spoked wheel apparatus. For example, spokes that are supported only at their respective ends, in the rim and the hub, do not have any intermediate support. To provide greater support to spokes that are supported at their respective hub and rim ends, it would be desirable if spokes had intermediate support between the hub and rim ends.
Thus, while the foregoing body of prior art indicates it to be well known to use spoked wheel apparatuses, the prior art described above does not teach or suggest a spoked wheel apparatus which has the following combination of desirable features: (1) is reversible; (2) complies with American Tire and Rim Association Motorcycle Tubeless specifications; (3) is symmetrical about a medial plane; (4) includes threads at both ends of the spokes; (5) can employ tubeless tires; (6) includes spoke well inserts that provide a strong, stress-resistant connection between threaded ends of spokes and spoke reception wells; and (7) provides intermediate support between the hub and rim ends. The foregoing desired characteristics are provided by the unique spoked wheel apparatus of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.
To achieve the foregoing and other advantages, the present invention, briefly described, provides a spoked wheel apparatus which includes a wheel rim portion that includes a circular locus of spoke reception channels. A hub assembly includes a first hub side and a second hub side. The first hub side includes reception positions for outer, first-side spokes and reception positions for inner, first-side spokes. The reception positions for outer, first-side spokes are oriented in a first circular direction around the first hub side and are oriented toward the circular locus of spoke reception channels at an outside-hub-to-rim angle. The reception positions for inner, first-side spokes are oriented in a second circular direction around the first hub side and are oriented toward the circular locus of spoke reception channels at an inside-hub-to-rim angle.
The second hub side includes reception positions for outer, second-side spokes and reception positions for inner, second-side spokes. The reception positions for outer, second-side spokes are oriented in a first circular direction around the second hub side and are oriented toward the circular locus of spoke reception channels at the outside-hub-to-rim angle. The reception positions for inner, second-side spokes are oriented in a second circular direction around the second hub side and are oriented toward the circular locus of spoke reception channels at the inside-hub-to-rim angle.
The outside-hub-to-rim angle is greater than the inside-hub-to-rim angle. The reception positions in the first hub side for the first-side spokes are offset from respective reception positions in the second hub side for the second-side spokes by a hub-reception-position offset angle.
An overall set of spokes is interconnected between the wheel rim portion and the hub assembly. The overall set of spokes includes a subset of spokes connected between the hub reception positions for outer, first-side spokes and the circular locus of spoke reception channels. The overall set of spokes also includes a subset of spokes connected between the hub reception positions for inner, first-side spokes and the circular locus of spoke reception channels.
In addition, a subset of spokes is connected between the hub reception positions for outer, second-side spokes and the circular locus of spoke reception channels. Also, a subset of spokes is connected between the hub reception positions for inner, second-side spokes and the circular locus of spoke reception channels.
Because the outside-hub-to-rim angle is greater than inside-hub-to-rim angle, the outer, first-side spokes and the inner, first-side spokes engage in interference contacts at respective locations between the circular locus of spoke reception channels and the first hub side. Similarly, the outer, second-side spokes and the inner, second-side spokes engage in interference contacts at respective locations between the circular locus of spoke reception channels and the second hub side. The interference contacts between spokes provide stabilizing spoke tension between contacting spokes.
A first drive dowel assembly is connected to the first hub side. A second drive dowel assembly is connected to the second hub side.
Spoke-to-rim connection means are provided for connecting the spokes to the wheel rim portion, and spoke-to-hub connection means are provided for connecting the spokes to the hub assembly.
Preferably, the wheel rim portion includes a first-side, circular locus of first-side spoke reception channels and a second-side, circular locus of second-side spoke reception channels, wherein each of the first-side, circular locus of first-side spoke reception channels and the second-side, circular locus of second-side spoke reception channels are on opposite sides of a medial rim plane.
Preferably, the first hub side includes reception positions for outer, first-side spokes and reception positions for inner, first-side spokes. The reception positions for outer, first-side spokes are oriented in a first circular direction around the first hub side and are oriented toward the first-side, circular locus of first-side spoke reception rim channels at an outside-hub-to-rim angle. The reception positions for inner, first-side spokes are oriented in a second circular direction around the first hub side and are oriented toward the first-side, circular locus of first-side spoke reception rim channels at an inside-hub-to-rim angle.
Preferably, the second hub side includes reception positions for outer, second-side spokes and reception positions for inner, second-side spokes. The reception positions for outer, second-side spokes are oriented in a first circular direction around the second hub side and are oriented toward the second-side, circular locus of second-side spoke reception rim channels at the outside-hub-to-rim angle. The reception positions for inner, second-side spokes are oriented in a second circular direction around the second hub side and are oriented toward the second-side, circular locus of second-side spoke reception rim channels at the inside-hub-to-rim angle.
Preferably, the overall set of spokes includes a subset of spokes connected between the hub reception positions for outer, first-side spokes and the first-side, circular locus of first-side spoke reception rim channels. A subset of spokes is connected between the hub reception positions for inner, first-side spokes and the first-side, circular locus of first-side spoke reception rim channels. A subset of spokes is connected between the hub reception positions for outer, second-side spokes and the second-side, circular locus of second-side spoke reception rim channels, and a subset of spokes is connected between the hub reception positions for inner, second-side spokes and the second-side, circular locus of second-side spoke reception rim channels.
The first circular direction is opposite the second circular direction. The first circular direction can be clockwise, and the second circular direction can be counterclockwise.
The spoke-to-hub connection means include hub-located spoke reception wells, and external-thread-receiving spoke well inserts are installed in the hub-located spoke reception wells. The external threads of the hub spoke ends are engaged with respective spoke well inserts for connecting the respective spokes to the hub assembly.
The hub-located spoke reception wells include axially oriented hub-located spoke reception wells, and the spoke well inserts include axially oriented spoke well inserts. Each spoke well insert is comprised of a metal which has a hardness greater than the hardness of the hub assembly and greater than the hardness of the spokes.
The hub-located spoke reception wells include transversely oriented spoke nut reception wells in the hub assembly, and the spoke well inserts include transversely oriented spoke well inserts that are installed into the transversely oriented spoke nut reception wells.
Each of the transversely oriented spoke well inserts includes an internally threaded outer spoke reception well which is oriented at an outside-hub-to-rim angle, and includes an internally threaded inner spoke reception well which is oriented at an inside-hub-to-rim angle. The outside-hub-to-rim angle is greater than the inside-hub-to-rim angle.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a spoked wheel apparatus includes a wheel rim portion which includes rim-located spoke reception channels. A hub assembly includes hub-located spoke reception channels. An overall set of spokes is connected between the wheel rim portion and the hub assembly. Each spoke in the overall set of spokes includes a rim spoke end and a hub spoke end, and each respective rim spoke end and hub spoke end is externally threaded. Spoke-to-rim connection means are provided for connecting each respective rim spoke end to each respective rim-located spoke reception channel. Spoke-to-hub connection means are provided for connecting each hub spoke end to each respective hub-located spoke reception channel.
Preferably, the spoke-to-rim connection means include an internally threaded spoke-to-rim nipple received in a respective rim-located spoke reception channel for receiving a respective rim spoke end. An interior nipple seal is located inside the spoke-to-rim nipple. An exterior nipple-to-rim seal is located between the spoke-to-rim nipple and the respective rim-located spoke reception channel. A nipple cap is connected to a top portion of the spoke-to-rim nipple for retaining the interior nipple seal inside the spoke-to-rim nipple. Each respective rim-located spoke reception channel is inwardly bevelled.
Preferably, the exterior nipple-to-rim seal is in a form of an elastic O-ring, and the interior nipple seal is in a form of an elastic ball. The nipple cap includes a cup-like bottom surface for receiving the elastic ball.
The spoke-to-rim nipple, the exterior nipple-to-rim seal, and the interior nipple seal provide an air-tight seal between the spoke and the wheel rim portion. As a result, the spoked wheel apparatus of the invention can be used with tubeless tires.
The above brief description sets forth rather broadly the more important features of the present invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contributions to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will be for the subject matter of the claims appended hereto.
In this respect, before explaining at least two preferred embodiments of the invention in detail, it is understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in the following description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood, that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.
As such, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception, upon which disclosure is based, may readily be utilized as a basis for designing other structures, methods, and systems for carrying out the several purposes of the present invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent constructions insofar as they do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved spoked wheel apparatus which has all of the advantages of the prior art and none of the disadvantages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a new and improved spoked wheel apparatus which may be easily and efficiently manufactured and marketed.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved spoked wheel apparatus which is of durable and reliable construction.
An even further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved spoked wheel apparatus which is susceptible of a low cost of manufacture with regard to both materials and labor, and which accordingly is then susceptible of low prices of sale to the consuming public, thereby making such spoked wheel apparatus available to the buying public.
Still yet a further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved spoked wheel apparatus which is reversible.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved spoked wheel apparatus that complies with American Tire and Rim Association Motorcycle Tubeless specifications.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved spoked wheel apparatus which is symmetrical about a medial plane.
Even another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved spoked wheel apparatus that includes threads at both ends of the spokes.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved spoked wheel apparatus which can employ tubeless tires.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved spoked wheel apparatus that includes spoke well inserts that provide a strong, stress-resistant connection between threaded ends of spokes and spoke reception wells.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved spoked wheel apparatus which provides intermediate support between the hub and rim ends.